The marketing trailer for Tomb Raider was chosen as the best trailer at this year’s E3 show. It failed the seizure safety test in 2 visual sequences, as shown in this screen capture from the analysis software.

Earlier this month in Los Angeles the annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) trade show for computer and video games was held, providing an opportunity for game companies to showcase products that will be released in the coming year.

On the basis of demos, official marketing trailers, interviews with developers, and, no doubt, heavy lobbying behind the scenes, reviewers and game publications then choose their favorites in various game genres/categories (shooter, puzzle, strategy, action, etc.) for the major hardware platforms. Widely read IGN.com, the website of IGN (which describes itself as “a leading online media & services company obsessed with gaming, entertainment and everything guys enjoy”) also selected what it considered the best trailers at the show.

A compelling trailer shows the latest/greatest/neatest special effects, story lines, and characters, packaging them in a way to draw in viewers and help create that all-important “buzz” of anticipation. Parents and others can have a look at the content, age appropriateness, and perhaps get a sense whether seizure-provoking visuals are likely to be present. So, which trailers got top billing by IGN, and how much risk do the trailers themselves pose for people with photosensitivity?

None of the 4 games named in the best trailer category were clearly seizure-safe—they all included visual sequences that could provoke seizures in some people. Three of the four didn’t actually fail the seizure safety test, but they contained sequences that flirted with the guidelines for photosensitive seizure safety, meaning that very sensitive individuals under the right circumstances could experience a seizure. When tested for seizure safety, the three runners-up were given neither a Pass or Fail—they received a Caution rating by the Harding Flash & Pattern Analyzer.

Best trailer of show? The guys at IGN chose Tomb Raider, which during its three minutes exceeded seizure safety guidelines for flashing a couple of times and came close to failing in others. In addition, the moving title at the end that explodes in a screen of solid red was close to going over the guidelines not only for bright flash but also for the amount of bright red on screen. When the game is released next March, it will most likely affect photosensitive players. Trailers aside, Tomb Raider was also selected as best overall game in show…